Home Depot has a commitment to history. Their commitment is to destroy it, if necessary. The Tennessean newspaper reports this week that the world’s largest home improvement chain wants to buy the Jim Reeves Museum property in Nashville, Tennessee. The 211-year-old home on the Reeves land is listed by the Tennessee Preservation Trust as one of the most endangered sites in the state, and Home Depot is the main reason its endangered at this point. Patrick McIntyre, head of the Trust, told the newspaper, “We’re very concerned about the house. We would like to see the original house saved on its original site as it has been for two centuries.” The current owners, who bought the property from the late country star Jim Reeves, say the house is in poor condition. Home Depot reportedly has a contract to buy the 15 acre parcel, but the ink is not yet dry on the deal. The land has to be rezoned to accommodate Home Depot’s plan, which means local residents could end up taking the deal to court instead of a ribbon-cutting. There is also a state law that prohibits the raizing of houses that were built before 1865 in large counties such as Davidson without county council approval. But the law exempts structures that can’t be repaired “at reasonable cost.” The home was built in 1794 by the Rev. Thomas Brown Craighead, a prominent Nashville settler who became president of Davidson Academy.
It is not at all clear why Home Depot has to take properties like this one with historic value. The company did not respond to the newspaper’s requests for an interview. Historic value has never stopped companies like Wal-Mart and Home Depot. The classic Wal-Mart story is from Fredericksberg, Viriginia, where the discounter tried to buy George Washington’s boyhood home to turn it into a Wal-Mart. Fortunately, a local foundation bought the land from Wal-Mart in a deal that moved them a short piece down the road, but such ventures into history do not seem to phase these giant corporations. In this case, the land is not even correctly zoned. For similar stories, search Newsflash by “historic”.
